College 2: Micro questions about inequality and mobility

Question 1

Pichler & Wallace (2007) / Gesthuizen et al. (2009):

What is formal- and informal social capital?

Answer 1

• Formal: ‘Participation in formal organizations and activitities (Putnam)/ volunteer work, sports club etc.
• Informal: ‘Investments in social relationships with family, friends, neighbours and colleagues (with expected returns, bourdieu, coleman). - How often are you in touch with the fam? - Can you count on their support in certain situations?

Question 2

Three types of relationships:

Answer 2

1. Primary (family)
2. Secondary (friends)
3. Tertiary (distant friends and acquaintances)

Question 3

Granovetter (1973) research: focus and shortcoming

Granovetter (1973) on weak ties:

Answer 3

• Focus on: one aspect of social networks; strength of ties within:
  1. household, family, friends, neighbours, other who live neaby
  2. colleagues
  3. Distant acquaintances or acquaintances of acquaintances
• His research lacked: the importance of the contect in the relationship in his analysis

Question 4

Granovetter (1973):

Granovetter: strength of ties could be reltaed to: … (4)

Answer 4

1. Diffusion of information
2. Social mobility
3. Political organization
4. Social cohesion in general

strength = amount of time + emotional intensity + intimacy + reciprocal services

Question 5

Granovetter (1973)

Basic hypothesis of his research:

Answer 5

Weak ties are more important for job search than strong ties.

Question 5

Granovetter (1973):

Central research question?

Answer 5

How do people find a job through their social relationships, via what kind of social capital?

• Social network offers opportunities and imposes restrictions on new job oppurtinities

Question 6

Granovetter (1973)

What is a bridging tie:

Answer 6

Relation between the points in different networks that is the only path of information
- He concluded: no strong tie is a bridging tie

Question 8

Granovetter (1973)

Two types of networks:

Answer 8

1. effective networks: old relationships, intense exchange of information. (Few new stories)
2. Extended networks: exchange between networks (new information)

Question 9

Granovetter (1973)

So why are weak ties important?

Answer 9

-Weak ties spread information between networks (through ‘new’ relationships’)
-Information throough new ties leads to same stories being told, no new information, the information stays in the networks.

-Info via weak ties is: flow of new stories, people are willing to pass new stories, ‘news’ reaches networks more effectively.

Question 10

Granovetter (1973)

What was faulty in his research:

Answer 10

Selection of dependent variable, asking people about how people got information about the job they took.

Question 11

Granovetter (1973)

Final conclusions:

Answer 11

-Via weak ties people more often find jobs than via strong ties. Weak ties are an important resource for mobility.

Question 12

Burt (2004):

What is a network broker? And how do these people gain social capital?

Answer 12

• Bridging weak tie of a person in between networks.
• These people derive social capital from the network because they are in an advantageous position, they control the spread of information between networks.

Question 13

Burt (2004)

Basic hypothesis and central research question:

Answer 13

• H: People in “structural holes” (positions between networks) have more good ideas than people in other positions.
• Question: How do brokerage positions produce advantage for the people in these kinds of positions.

Question 14

Burt (2004):

Theoretical mechanisms: why do brokerage positions create value? (4)

Answer 14

1. It increases the awareness within one’s own group of the interests of other groups and the problem they face.
2. Transferring routines and best practices between groups
3. Drawing analogies between your own and other groups.
4. Synthesizing/combining ideas and behaviours from different groups and incorporating them into your own group.

Question 15

Burt (2004)

Central hypotheses: supply-chain managers in “brokerage”
positions:

Answer 15

• Have better ideas
• Are better paid
• Than supply-chain manageres in other positions

Question 16

Burt (2004)

Key findings:

Answer 16

Higer managerial rank results in less network constraint.
Managers with higher network constraint:
1. Earned lower salaries.
2. Received less favorable evaluations
3. Had a smaller likelihood population

Question 17

Burt (2004)

What was discussion on his research about?:

Answer 17

-How did the managers get into brokerage positions? Did the network give them the ideas, or did they have the ideas and therefore become managers?
So: causality problem